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Another grooming question: Etiquette


StarFox

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Today I got Zebra groomed. The cost was 65 for a haircut (no bath). When I went to pay I tipped the groomer 3 dollars. My mom was shocked when I did this. She said I shouldn't have done that, and I responded "Don't you tip when you get your hair cut?" and she said "Yes, but it's not the same." I thought it was proper, they are providing a service and if they do a good job should be rewarded for it.

So does anyone else tip there groomer?
Groomers do you think it's proper to tip?

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Of course its proper Etiquette. What people forget is when you have your dog groomed we groom the whole dog...not just it's head. We have to dematt, clean ears, clip nails, brush out, and brush out all the undercoat.

[quote]Today I got Zebra groomed. The cost was 65 for a haircut (no bath)[/quote]
Isnt Zebra a double coated dog? if so, without a bath thats an even BIGGER job. People don't realize how much work a groomer puts into their dog. With a bath we can get the undercoat out much quicker and much better.
I've seen us speand 5 hours on a Newf and charge $60.00 Canadian...some people don't appreciate the work you put into the dog. The people who tip are the ones you are going to go a little bit more out of your way for. I find this amusing as one of my friends just had her hair trimmed and highlighted and it cost her 80.00 plus tax, plus a tip. She was only there for 2 hours.

One more thing we find at the grooming facility...rich people count the pennies and don't give a dime extra (in some cases, not all). The working class people and some of our clients who can relate to how hard we work are the ones who tip.

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Think of it this way.

I get my hair cut and colored, it's $70 and takes 2 hours. Deduct supply costs and salon commission, it's about $55-ish.
That ends up being about $23 per hour. I tip about $5- $7.

Now, take your $65 grooming of Zebra.
I would say that without a bath, it would take nearly as much time as if there HAD been a bath (to do all the brush-work), so let's say about 3 hours of total working time. Generally, groomers in a shop make about 50% commission, so their income to groom Zebra would be about $32.50...and about $10.80 per hour. That doesn't not take into account the cost of their own supplies, insurance and taxes.

So, yes! Tip, tip, tip!

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I think it's a personal decision. If you want to tip, that's fine, but if not, no biggie. Me personally, I set my prices where I get paid pretty good regardless of tips. I consider tips as gravy, not a part of my main income. Many of my clients are generous and I appreciate them, but I'm ok with people not tipping. Some people just don't think about it and I'm fine with that. To be honest, I hate feeling [u]obligated[/u] to tip anybody. I do it to show appreciation for a job well done, not because I feel obligated. While we're on the subject, and this may raise some hackles, but I hate tip jars I see in places, grooming salons included. There's no way I'd do it.

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I took Pixie in to get a puppy shot, and also got both P&P's faces and footses trimmed up. (I SWEAR, I read the other posts, and did not force myself upon the groomers!) While I was waiting to be checked out, I asked to make an appointment for a grooming, just trimming up the face and the pad area (I'm too chicken to try it myself!). The nurse who was checking me out called back to the groomer and asked about when to fit in two partial grooms, and the lady came up and asked if I wanted to wait, or come back. I said I could do whichever fitted in with her schedule, and she said that she'd do it real quick. When she brought 'em back out she said, "You know, we usually need to make appointments." I guess she thought I just walked in off the street and demanded a groom! No, really, I just wanted to make an appointment for whenever they had available, and didn't even think that they'd be able to do it right then!

So I tipped, and tipped pretty big, based on the $10 bucks each they charged for the service. I went with $5 per groomer. I totally agree with HF, tipping should be based on a good job, not just because it's the automatic "thing you do." It was super that the groomers squeezed me in like that, so I wanted to make sure they knew I was appreciative.

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[quote name='Horsefeathers!']To be honest, I hate feeling [u]obligated[/u] to tip anybody. I do it to show appreciation for a job well done, not because I feel obligated. While we're on the subject, and this may raise some hackles, but I hate tip jars I see in places, grooming salons included. There's no way I'd do it.[/quote]

Exactly! I don't ever feel obligated to give people my money unless they have done a good job. I didn't tip the groomer because she cut my dogs hair..I did it because she did a GOOD job cutting his hair. If she had done a bad job she wouldn't have gotten a dime.

Oh yeah and about thoes tip jars? I hate them! As mean as it sounds, I purposly don't put tips in the jars. It seems to much like begging for a tip and some people think that they deserve tips just because some stupid jar is out even if they provide horrible service.

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